DIPG/DMG Center Zurich
Our mission is to develop and establish improved therapeutic measures to prolong the overall survival of children diagnosed with Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG) and Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
The DIPG/DMG Center Zurich is focusing on developing and implementing improved therapies for children diagnosed with DIPG/DMGs. The Program consists of a clinical and a translational research entity which reside within the Division of Oncology, University Children's Hospital of Zurich, a non-profit hospital supported by the Eleonore Foundation. The DIPG/DMG Center in Zurich is a joint effort with the University of San Francisco, California (UCSF) allowing patients to receive the most up to date information.
Research
Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG), including Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), affect children most commonly under the age of 10 years and account for 10 percent of all pediatric cancers. Children diagnosed with DMG have extremely poor outcomes, with over 90 percent of patients dying within two years of diagnosis. DMGs represent heterogeneous groups of tumors, both within and between patients, that require further stratification when developing new therapies. To date, there has been no advancements in therapy for DMG patients despite significant progress in our understanding of disease biology.
Our laboratory is at the heart of an international consortium researching DMGs at both translational and clinical level. Along with 20 other institutions, our approach is one of interdisciplinary research tackling DMGs from multiple angles, including neurotechnology, computational oncology, proteomics, drug screening, and functional genomics. We aim to identify personalized therapeutic vulnerabilities for an effective treatment of DMG.
- Development of novel avatar models of DIPG/DMG
- Discovery of effective single and combination drugs
- Defining tumor epigenetic landscape
- Discovery and validation of biomarkers of response and resistance
- Focused ultrasound
- Artificial blood-brain barrier
- Molecular Profiling and Functional Genomics
Open positions, working with us
We currently have open positions for Master's students interested in translational research focusing on targeting tumorigenic pathways in childhood brain cancers.
Please contact: Javad Nazarian
